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Livy · History of Rome §40.59.1-40.59.8

Fulvius' Triumph, Elections, and Repetition of Games

Passage 1562 of 1770 · Latin

Summary

Consul Quintus Fulvius celebrates a triumph over the Ligurians, followed by the elections of new consuls and praetors. Due to several ominous portents, the Roman Games are repeated to appease the gods.

§40.59.1alter consulum Q. Fulvius ex Liguribus triumphavit; quem triumphum magis gratiae quam rerum gestarum magnitudini datum constabat.
One of the consuls, Quintus Fulvius, celebrated a triumph over the Ligurians; it was well known that this triumph was granted more as a favor than because of the greatness of his achievements.
§40.59.2armorum hostilium magnam vim transtulit, nullam pecuniam admodum.
He carried in the procession a great quantity of enemy arms, but virtually no money.
divisit tamen in singulos milites trecenos aeris, duplex centurionibus, triplex equiti.
Nevertheless, he distributed three hundred asses of bronze to each soldier, double to the centurions, and triple to the horsemen.
§40.59.3nihil in eo triumpho magis insigne fuit, quam quod forte evenit, ut eodem die triumpharet, quo priore anno ex praetura triumphaverat.
Nothing in that triumph was more remarkable than the fact that he happened to triumph on the very same day on which he had triumphed the previous year after his praetorship.
§40.59.4secundum triumphum comitia edixit, quibus creati consules sunt M. Iunius Brutus A. Manlius Vulso.
After the triumph, he proclaimed the assembly, at which Marcus Iunius Brutus and Aulus Manlius Vulso were elected consuls.
§40.59.5praetorum inde tribus creatis comitia tempestas diremit.
Next, after three praetors had been elected, a storm broke up the assembly.
postero die reliqui tres facti, ante diem quartum idus Martias, M. Titinius Curvus Ti. Claudius Nero T. Fonteius Capito.
On the following day, the remaining three were chosen, four days before the Ides of March: Marcus Titinius Curvus, Tiberius Claudius Nero, and Titus Fonteius Capito.
§40.59.6ludi Romani instaurati ab aedilibus curulibus Cn. Servilio Caepione Ap. Claudio Centone propter prodigia, quae evenerant.
The Roman Games were repeated by the curule aediles, Gnaeus Servilius Caepio and Appius Claudius Cento, on account of the portents that had occurred.
terra movit; §40.59.7in fanis publicis, ubi lectisternium erat, deorum capita, quae in lectis erant, averterunt se, lanxque cum integumentis, §40.59.8quae Iovi apposita fuit, decidit de mensa.
The earth shook; in the public temples, where the sacred banquet of the gods was taking place, the heads of the statues of the gods upon the couches turned themselves away, and the dish with its coverings, which had been placed before Jupiter, fell from the table.
oleas quoque praegustasse mures in prodigium versum est.
The fact that mice had also tasted the olives beforehand was turned into a portent.
ad ea expianda nihil ultra, quam ut ludi instaurarentur, actum est.
To expiate these things, nothing further was done than that the games should be repeated.

Notes

  1. 40.59.1quem triumphum — The relative pronoun is used here as a relative adjective modifying 'triumphum' and acting as a connective link with the preceding sentence, meaning 'which triumph' or 'this triumph'.
  2. 40.59.6terra movit — The transitive verb 'moveo' (to move) is used here in an intransitive sense (with the reflexive pronoun 'se' omitted) to mean 'the earth shook'.
  3. 40.59.8nihil ultra, quam ut ludi instaurarentur, actum est — A comparative construction with 'nihil ultra, quam' ('nothing further than'). The 'ut' clause with the subjunctive 'instaurarentur' functions as a noun clause explaining the only action taken.

Cite this passage

Livy, History of Rome §40.59.1-40.59.8. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:40.59.1-40.59.8

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